The Malecón is a stretch of coastline along the north shore of
Cuba in the city of Havana. Most of the old buildings still show some of
their old style charm, although few are in good enough shape for even
the most basic living conditions. (Although, people live in them anyway.)
The good news is that there is an enormous reconstruction effort underway,
most of which is being financed by Spain under new development initiatives.
Here, Cuba has allowed foreign investors to own up to 50% of a
business or property (the other 50% owned by Cuba itself). A good deal, since
tourism is Cuba's biggest industry, with over 2 million visitors a year,
mostly from Canada and Europe. Because of the United States' laws against
investment in Cuba and with any foreign company that invests there,
the largest investors are companies from Spain, who don't do much (or any)
trade with the USA.
